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Each day brought new challenges. Sometimes the obstacles seemed too hard to overcome. The stresses of meeting the rising demands of teaching at the time, added to the weight that she carried on her shoulders of being the authority in that classroom. Not a day went by that she did not wonder if she was equipped, skilled, and talented enough to be great at what she had chosen as a career. Teaching children and molding mind of a new generation; a challenge in which she believed she was ill prepared for.

She was a teacher who put her best foot forward each day in spite of the daily challenges in her own world outside of the school building. After all, she was human too. She left the classroom every afternoon and worked to be present in other areas of her life. She balanced it all, learning every step of the way the difficulties of navigating life with many responsibilities and being prepared for the work of educating children. But she managed to balanced it all and work endlessly to be a positive presence in every area of her life.

Her hope was that her positive spirit would manifest itself in the classroom full of societal missteps and the plight of disadvantaged communities. Each day, she was was met with a gap in he road with little to no bridge. While she was not from their world, she had been blessed to empathize with their circumstances. She had not had their experiences, but found her overwhelming compassion to do more. She did not understand the dynamics of their lives, but accepted the challenge to grow into the channel the spirit of humanity to be the positive force that they needed in their lives.

As a teacher, she learned that through their toughness, they communicated their fears, anxious thoughts, and doubts. In their interactions with adults, they showed their lack of trust for people. In their relationships with their peers they displayed their willingness to fight at any time; a coping mechanism developed to survive. They did not believe what she believed and failed to see the optimism in every situation which was her mantra.

They were not privy to experiences that she had and were not always accepting of her attempts at changing their perception of the world. While they may have wanted to improve their character and respond differently to adverse situation, they did not. It took her a long while to realize that they simply did not know how. In spite of her efforts, it was a daily battle to remain in control of the day when they responded every situation with a confrontation carrying the negative emotional baggage on their backs. Many of the had taken on responsibilities of their world; even at their young age.

There were some mornings when he entered the classroom talkative and cooperative; generally happy to be at school. He was liked by many and had many friends. But there were also days when he entered the room and was clearly angry, bothered by something that took place before he even entered the classroom. At those times, he was quiet and withdrawn for the better part of the day. It was clear that he was processing something that had impacted his world. It was days like these when he fought her to be right about everything. He was defiant and disrespectful. Uncooperative and destructive. The whole day was turned upside down. On these days, she felt helpless, like she was failing as a teacher and as a partner in his connection to a bright future.

Over time, she realized that there is nothing like seeing into the world of her students. This is how she connected. She listed. She did not judge. She cared and it was evident. One day in particular, she learned of a fight between him and another male student. When asked, he told her that the other student said something about his mother. All of my efforts at dispelling the myths that lived inside of him and the internal struggle that he was having with himself failed. He was adamant about acting in the in defense of his mother by any means necessary He refused to allow her named or character to be defamed by anyone. While empathized with his feeling to respond to the other students comments, she wanted him to consider responding in a different way instead of with violence. To him, words were just as harmful as sticks and stones.

She sensed a certain responsibility that a child should not have. He shared that it was indeed his responsibility to take care of her. period. She learned that his mother struggled with setbacks and consequences associated with their environment. This was the weight he carried. To him showing his love for her was fighting It made him angry to hear such negative words about his mother. After running out of words to say to calm him and get him to see her point, she told him this. Pray for his mother. She told him specifically to go home and get on his knees that night and pray for her to be better.

Her heart hurt for his tears and his unwavering love and admiration for the woman who birthed him. There was no judgement there; only the love that a son could have for his mother. The next day she returned with hope in her heart for better days for them all While she was, at that time, working to support him through that moment of struggle, there were other students in her class whose behaviors fluctuated as well. Some days they were all up and there were good times to be had and other days its was one, two, three or four of them that brought their emotional weight to school and struggled to keep it under control. This caused conflict both within and outside of the classroom. The inconsistent behavior interactions made it difficult to manage peer to peer relationships let alone teaching the skills necessary to pass a state test. But on one particular day, a glimmer of light shone for the compassion that she had for her work. This lit a spark in her life that would change the course of her work.

If there was ever a time when she felt that she was doing the most good, it was on the day that he told that he had indeed done what she had told him to do. That morning, he did not say ‘hello’ or ‘good morning’. His words were simple, “I did what you told me to do.” He had went home and prayed for his mother. At that moment working to hold back her own emotions, she knew that the work she was doing was having an impact on the lives of her students. That day was a good day for him. It seemed as if a weight had been lifted off. If only for a moment. From then on, she know exactly how to reach him.

That teacher was me. I never imagined that I could silence the cry of the hurt in the lives of my students. Their circumstances seemed far beyond what I had experienced and what I was capable of understanding and managing. But I realized that when you are in the right place doing what you are created to do, you will be able to access the skills needed to do the work. All I needed to do was just be willing. That was over 19 years ago. Since then, I have carried with me the experiences throughout my years of teaching. Every student needs to know that you care. As their teacher, you are a valuable part of their lifeline and the success that they dream of. You are the gateway for their future. It not just about knowledge and skill, it is about the heart and the spirit. That is how you will connect; nothing else will penetrate their world as much. Once they know that your compassion is genuine, they will work for you, they will learn from you, they will be your biggest example and your greatest accomplishment. Know your place in this field. You matter in this space.

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The storms of your life are raging and there never seems to be an end to the turmoil that you are going through. One thing after another interrupts your world like a roaring hurricane slamming into the shores of your life . You once thought you were equipped to handle the pain, disappointment, fear, and loss,; only to find out that your capacity to survive in the moment was limited and somewhat conditional.

You must build up your stamina to fight in the moment. There is often no time to waist between the unfortunate circumstance and the actions, if any, that you must take. A constant routine of prayer, scripture reading and meditating on the Word will get you to the door of peace, even in the midst of the struggle.

Strengthening your faith and understanding the power it brings to the resolution of your situation will aid you in your fight if you are struggling to believe in the power of God, you are putting yourself at a disadvantage..

Be open to healing as it will present an opportunity for growth. Never underestimate the purpose of your chosen path. While your present understanding may be limited, your steps are crucial in the process. Know that there is power in who you are becoming, where you are going, and how you will get there.

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Have you heard the saying ‘I want my flowers while I am here on earth’? With this phrase one would be asking for those around them to celebrate us while we are here. While it may be a worth saying it may often fall in deaf ears.

The truth of the matter is, life is defiantly a journey and everyone has their highs, lows, and moments of joy and pain. While we may seek to celebrate others for their great efforts, contribution of time and unwavering compassion for others, we still have our own stuff to deal with. But at any given point either we are the ones who ate so inundated with our own drama or we are the ones wondering while no one has noticed all that we have accomplished We know what it is like to be on both side of this issue. But still……

…….we find ourselves wondering if anyone sees all that we do say in and day out. We may not opening state it but there is that part in us that may want the drums to beat when we enter a room, the horns to play a tune in unison with a full band celebrating our work. At times, we want heads to turn when we walk in a room with everyone upright acknowledging our presence. Maybe just the subtle gesture of a nod signifying a ‘thank you for helping me’ moment that cannot be replaced. Regardless of the magnitude there is something innate in us that would appreciate some type of acknowledgement for who we are and what we do. While you wait on someone to do this for you, I have a suggestion….

Buy your flowers yourself. Place them on a table in your home or in a desk in your office or cubicle. Every time you walk by, acknowledge who you are, your good works and where you are headed. The more you do this for yourself, the less you will need someone to do it for you. Flowers are a symbols of showing love or some sort of appreciation. But you may not always be in the position to get flowers when you need a little encouragement. You must make this a daily habit. Over time. You will find that although it is always good to hear an ‘I love you’ or a ‘thank you’ or even an ‘ I appreciate you’, you won’t have to depend on it for your happiness because you bought your own flowers!

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The new year is here. It is already, January 2, 2019 and the momentum is changing. The celebrations, confetti, wine, and good feelings have all worn away. For many, work has begun again and the spirit of hope, aspiration, and positive vibes have subsided. Any new year’s resolution you have made, while still in force, lacks the same urgency that it had on December 31st. As the hand moves around the clock, you wonder if you will feel the same warmth that you did when you decided that you would do something different. You cannot help but to think, ‘will this year be like all the others?’

The dictionary defines momentum as the quality of motion. It speaks in terms of the movement of the physical body or a type of force. It ties together the idea that it takes some amount of strength and force to move an object. We can use this same meaning for the movement of our life outcomes. While not entirely physical at all times, the ability to keep our lives moving in the direction that we desire requires a certain type of momentum.

In order to live out the beauty of your dreams, you must first activate the power of your will and inner strength. You must tap into your resolve and realize the time, effort, and energy it will take to carry out your goals and aspirations. You must build up your emotional strength to deal with setbacks and disappointments.

The only way you can truly start and keep your momentum going is to set some personal goals, calendar them, and put an action plan in place to achieve them. Without a plan, it is unlikely that you will notice any real success. You must visit your plan often and make adjustments without fail. This process should be repeated so that you can keep consistency within the process and ensure that you do not veer away from your goals.

Knowing and preparing for the obstacles that you will face in advance will keep you from becoming discouraged when things do not work according to what you have planned. Perhaps one of the seemingly most significant setbacks will be the criticism of those who know you best and are likely not convinced that you can achieve what you have set out to do. Once met with this type of setback, chances are, you will step back and evaluate your success (or lack there of), start to criticize your own plan or halt the process altogether. In these instances, you manage to give the power of your momentum to someone else.

The important thing to remember is that there is no momentum without the work that goes into keeping it going. Remember, it is defined as the quality of motion and the strength needed to keep it going. This force explicitly encompasses your will to fight through every obstacles that you will come up against. When it is January 5th and you are too tired to take the next step, you have already lost your will to get it done. When June arrives and you realize that you have not worked towards your goal in over 3 months, you have lost your resolve. When December makes its debut and you figure that if you set the same goals you will do better next year, you gave your power away long ago and that same lack of will power will yield the same results the following year.

If words of wisdom will provide you with what you need to move in the direction you are trying to go, you must take hold of a few things. Greatness is already within you but it is you that will have to take the journey to see it actualized in your life. The journey is yours and you can start and stop whenever and how ever many times you like. But your journey is just that; your journey. This means, whatever you aspire to do and/or be, it is your assignment to do it regardless, It will continue to show up in your life without fail. Each year that you decide you will do something better and/or greater in your life, it is a charge and connected to your assignment. So, without fail, go after what you seek with force. Let your momentum not fade away, but instead propel you into the life that you desire and so deserve.

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Its that time of year again when we open our hearts and shine the light of gratitude for what we have and reach out to help others in need. But what happens when your own spirit has lost its shine and your emotions are not where they should be. Feelings of guilt begin to manifest as you realize your obvious moment of selfishness. How can you be thinking of yourself and your own woes during this time of thanksgiving?

What do you do when I’m the outside, you have it all together but on the inside you are broken all the way through?

Understand that this is not something that just happened but rather the result of many days, perhaps weeks, months and/or year that you have neglected to tend to yourself. It just so happened a that it chose to show up at this time. So where do you go from here?

First of all embrace the notion that you need to make yourself a priority in your own life. Your mind, body, and spirit must be nurtured in order for your life to reflect what you truly want.

Secondly, realize that it’s ok to feel a little off balance. This is the acknowledgement that something needs to change. Without being able to tap into those emotions, people tend to remain in a state where there is no forward movement.

Thirdly, you must develop the capacity to open up your spirit to the possibilities. Greatness will come but it may be with great struggle and pain. You must embrace the fact that there is more to your life then what is happening in this current state.

Finally, if you are stuck in a state of unrest, struggle and even feelings of defeat, know that there is a brighter day coming. We may be tossed by the wind and beat down by life experiences, but we can get up again.

Don’t worry, if you find yourself in this state often, feeling not as happy and at peace as you desire, know that this is just a reminder that there is something greater for you. It will depend on you as to when you will truly embrace who you are becoming in spite of your pain.

Find the joy in each day. Change what you need to change. Think about those things that bring you happiness. Do the things that bring you the most peace. In order for your life to reflect love, you must learn to love yourself. You do this by taking special care to make yourself a priority. Then and only then will your outward appearance and your inward emotions be in sync.

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Growth can be such a strange thing. Especially when your circumstances makes you wonder if you have grown at all. Let’s face it, we all come to the point every now and then when we feel that we are stuck and can’t seem to find our way out.

If things in your world have got you at a stand still and you are wondering how to proceed. take.note of the following.

The beauty that is in you IS you. It should reflect in everything that you say and do. The hurts, disappointments, frustrations and setbacks should never be aloud to determine your presence in any situation.

Proceed through any uncomfortable or undesirable situation with caution. But do not allow fear to overtake you and certainly do not allow the judgement of others to stifle who you are.

Stay firmly planted in what you believe and stand up for yourself with your morals and values as the foundation. Refuse to conceal your talents, gifts and your contribution to the world.

How you proceed should always reflect the beauty of who you are which is the rue essence of who you were created to be and what you were created to do.

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At some time or another, we may all experience great joy and happiness and also great pain and sadness. While the highs fill our spirits and fuel our hopes, the lows threaten our resolve and accompany that emptiness in the pit of our stomachs that keeps us in a constant state of anxiety.

While one moment you experience a brief calm, the next moment you are overtaken by something so strong that you begin to wonder if you will get through it. You know the pain: the death of a loved one, discord within your relationship, a child gone off course, loss of a job, disappointing news, financial struggles, the list goes on. Whatever your experience, it is an unmistakable feeling that things are not lining up.

Perhaps the most gut wrenching part is that in many cases, you have no answers and seemingly no control over the situation. In the night hours as you cry and pray, wondering what the outcome will be, you allow yourself to become more and more consumed with the problem.

A relative once told me that there is nothing that will come your way that you cannot handle. But in times of struggle, it is difficult to think or even believe that this too shall pass and that the promises of God will prevail.

What I have learned in times of struggle is that regardless of what you do, the hard times will come and they will come with a vengeance without any kind of concern for you, your family, who you are, or where you are trying to go. It just works to destroy, EVERYTHING. Once you come to terms with the fact that things will happen that threaten to take your very breath away., you can begin to prepare yourself.

Below are a few things that I have learned throughout the years as I have gone through struggles of my own:

1. Develop and maintain a strong relationship with God. Study the word and prayer often

2. Some things will only be resolved through fasting and praying

3. Be a light to those around you and an example of Gods word EVERYDAY

4. Make sure that you are communing with other believes

5. Share the word with your children and make sure that everyone in your house is on the same page

6. Silence the noise in your life to hear the voice of God

7. Have Faith and believe

8. Find a few go to scriptures that you can reflect on when the feeling in the pit of your stomach comes

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Have you ever looked back and thought about what you would do differently if you could relive a particular time frame in your life? It’s quite interesting to think that if you would have simply made another choice, you would have ultimately experienced a different level of love, peace and joy. The world has offered you that which aligned with the choices that you made. The good, the bad, the ugly; it’s your life and you are living it.

While you may not be able to go back in time and right your wrongs, make different decisions., avoid the pain, escape the hurt, and ignore the wounds, you can start each day anew. It is true that your past can certainly provide the framework for your future. It’s up to you how you want to live it and what direction you chose to go. Yes, we all wish that we could have done something differently, but the fact of the matter is, there are no easy escapes and few opportunities to bow out. We can, however, decide how we want our lives to go from here on out and take the necessary steps to make it happen.

The past is already gone. Our present is our opportunity and the future can be the fruition of our hopes and dreams. So be settled in your mind that you cannot go back, but you can start to pattern your life today around what you desire for your life to be and where you want to go

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You would think that if you were broken you would know it. You would recognize that you are operating at less than your best and that you are not as you used to be. You could simply determine that something is not quite right and that you have allowed your mind, emotions, and spirit to take a nose dive. With all of these realities, certainly, you would know, right?

The thing about being broken is that you can operate in your everyday life, take care of all of your responsibilities and keep your priorities in check and still be broken.

Brokenness is a state. You can go in and out depending on the situation. All too often, when we are broken, we become used to the emotions and the mindset that is associated with this state that it become normal; so normal that we fail to realize that we are not only broken, but we are standing in our own way of recovery and healing.

As we begin to find the reason for our brokenness, it would seem obvious that it is those things and people around us that have brought such a dark shadow over our lives. The hurt becomes so great and the pain so deep that there has to be an outside force that are at the controls of our deep agony rather than something deep within.

Yes! That tangible thing or person has to be the culprit. Beside, we would not in our right minds inflict this grueling pain on ourselves, would we?

Your brokenness grips you and holds on tight at the most inopportune moments of your life. Yes you can work, yes you can function, yes you can pretend like everything is ok. But deep down within you are not ok.

When you might ask will it get better.

The tides will turn when you come back to the foundation of your relationship with God. You must connect with Him to even get an idea of what this is all about. You have to sacrifice so that you can be more in tune with what He wants to say to you in the midst of your struggle.

You must be open to allow His Spirit to penetrate your soul. This is when the process of healing begins. Regardless of who or what you think may have contributed to the pain that you are feeling, it is you who decides how you will respond. Your pain, your hurt, your brokenness is deeply rooted in how you have chosen to respond to life’s challenges. It is about how you are wired and how you allow life situations to affect you.

You must be prayed up and armed for every fight. Take no fight lightly. When you are not prepared, you walk in blindly and fight without the proper tools. The scripture tells us that in this life we will have troubles (John 16:33), but we don’t have to fight them alone.

The only person that we can change is ourselves and there are many things that go on in our lives that we can not control. But we simply can’t win any fight with the right tools.

It is so important to note that many people go through their everyday lives not even realizing they are in a fight. We go about our daily lives as if everything is the same every day. We treat every person the same and do everything the same. We fail to realize that yesterday was not the same kind of fight that you are in today . Last Tuesday required you to pray a little harder than the Tuesday before, but today has brought in so much turmoil that you must get on the prayer line, fast and stay in your knees praying,

You can’t get complacent in your walk with Christ. He is the only one who can heal your brokenness. The issue is not with the people and things around you. The issue is within you. You must be healed so that you are better able to fight. That true, real healing only comes from God. So when you finally get to the point and you know that you are broken, find your way back to Christ, that is where your healing lies.